A writer-mom's life is filled with a million and two distractions; sometimes she finds herself at the park, WRITING ON THE SIDEWALK

Empathy for the Enemy

So far it’s a messy collection of rambling details and conversations as I get to know the people who inhabit this new world.

I’ve been spending time with my new main character. We’re still a bit stiff with each other. But she’s telling me things. Letting me see her point of view, bit by bit. She’s going through a rough patch. Unfortunately it’s going to get a lot worse. I’m going to be making her miserable.

Worse, now I have to get to know her enemy. We don’t like him. In fact, as my SBB’s niece would say, I can’t like him.

And yet, if this story is going to get written I am going to have to understand him. It’s kind of freaking me out.

Here’s Chuck Wendig’s predictably entertaining and edifying take on Antagonists via his Terrible Minds Blog. As he points out, antagonists kick the cat. And I need to get why.

Also, check out this random Young Adult Character Generator thanks to the team at Duolit. Your character may seem a bit superficial at first, but play around with those traits – just a few suggestions triggered some interesting ideas.

What kind of antagonist will make your hero do the things he/she needs to do?

Sarah Wones Tomp

WRITING ON THE SIDEWALK

Advertisements

Like this:

LikeLoading...

Related

4 Responses

Love these links! And your thoughts on building an antagonist we just can’t like. Something Mark Karlins said in a VC lecture really struck me as well–that a good (meaning bad!) antagonist should force your protagonist to be his/her best self. In other words, the antagonist should put your protagonist in a position where she is forced to step up and act in a way that she would normally not act.